In this undated photo, an X-ray image of Chinese woman, Luo Cuifen, 29, needles are seen in her body.

Some women newly empowered

To be sure, the status of women in China has improved in recent years due to education, modernization, general changes in attitudes – and, ironically, to the country's traditional male preference.

In China's largest cities, many educated, single women now are in greater demand – creating a dramatic social shift. China's longstanding one-child policy has created a skewed ratio between the genders, with 119 boys reported born for every 100 girls, according to official figures.

A recent documentary film, "Shanghai Bride," explored the sometimes cut-throat nature of that city's marriage market, where women's vastly superior numbers mean they call the shots in the dating game.

Change slow to reach the countryside

But this China girl power doesn't always extend to the countryside, where the majority of the country's massive 1.3 billion population lives and where attitudes change slowly.